A Tinker Bell Story
by Wretched Me
Summary: Tinker Bell is snatched from her paradise and thrown into a world consumed by war.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Peter Pan characters.

**Note:** This story contains elements of a fairytale, but don't expect Disney. It has language, violence, and graphic depictions of sex. If you can't handle any of this, don't read it. If it gets taken down I'll post the story elsewhere. On a separate note, I haven't seen any of the new Tinker Bell movies and I don't plan to. The Tink in this story is closer to her personality in the book. Everything else comes from me.

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**Chapter One**

"No, no, no," Tinker Bell shouted and ripped the hat from her head. She turned and stepped down from the tiny fitting area of Mrs Bugby's Fashion Fairy Boudoir. "I don't know why I even bother with this place anymore."

Mrs Bugby stood off to the side looking bored. She was an older fairy about the shape of a tea pot with wads of curly grey hair piled on top of her head. A shop owner who hadn't been around as long as she had would have balked at the behavior of this snooty blonde fairy who had whisked in over an hour ago seeking to purchase an entire new wardrobe. However, Mrs Bugby had known Tinker Bell for years and had long since gotten over the little fairy's behavior. Tink wasn't like other pixie girls, that much was certain.

"What about that one there," Mrs Bugby said and pointed to a wide-brimmed purple hat hanging from one of the hooks in the wall. Tink took one look at the hat and turned up her nose, which was just such the perfect shape for being turned up.

"Purple's not my color, thank you. I guess I'll just take those and be on my way." She pointed to the outfits she had already picked out that laid in a heap on the checkout counter. Mrs Bugby fluttered over to the counter and began to tally up the total.

"That'll be thirty gold, please."

Tinker Bell rummaged through her bag for the sum and dropped the coins onto the table. Mrs Bugby shuffled the pile of purchases into two large bags made of bay leaves. Tink took the bags and bid her goodbyes, chin up and shoulders back.

Tinker Bell hated coming to the fairy village but there was nowhere else she could have gotten new clothes. She would have made them herself if she could have, but she wasn't nearly good enough at that sort of thing. She was a tinker, not a tailor. Her tools were fire, hammers, anvils, fullers and all other sorts of harsh, heavy things that did terrible things to her skin and hair. She didn't know how she'd ever come to be good at it. She hated getting dirty. However, if anyone had asked her if she was a tinker she would have replied "Only the best."

Long ago Tink had lived here in the village. That was before she'd met Peter. Peter had been just a baby at the time she and others had found him in Kensington Garden but she had loved him at once. When he had flown off to the Hangman's Tree to live, she had followed and been with him ever since. She knew the other pixies talked about her and made fun of her fondness for Peter. It was one the main things that made life in the village so unbearable. Even fluttering along as she was now she could feel the eyes on her, hear the whispers being passed back and forth. 'Look, there goes Tinker Bell. The pixie in love with a human.'

The truth was Tink didn't entirely understand her situation either. She knew better than anyone how Peter Pan broke her heart at least twelve times a day, and by the end of the day she had no choice but to forgive him. After all, he was just a boy.

The fairy village was situated in the very deepest part of the island's jungle. The trees in this part of the jungle grew large and close together, sometimes so close that the branches of different trees twisted and twined to make one large network. It was in such a twisted crossing of branches that the fairies had chosen to build their little shops and houses. Some of the fairies lived directly in the trunks of the trees. Others had built charming little wood houses out on the branches. The whole of the village was made up of about fifty-seven fairies, each one having their own special ability and job. All day, every day there were fairies going everywhere doing something. Busy busy busy making flowers bloom and gardens grow and seasons change and all that other distracting stuff that Tinker Bell just didn't have time for. What would happen to Peter if she kept as busy as other fairies? 'Sorry Peter, I can't help you escape from Hook right now. There's a spatula in urgent need of repair.' She shook her head at the thought.

The flight from the fairy village to Peter's tree wasn't a long one for a pixie. Tink made it back to the tree before sundown. She zipped down through the old hollowed branches and into the main living quarters. Of course the hideaway was an absolute wreck. From the arrows and tomahawks sticking in the wall it looked like Peter had been battling with the Indians again. She didn't mind that but only wished he wouldn't do it inside.

Tink's own living area was a moderately sized hole carved into the wall. Originally the hole had been covered by a raccoon skin. Peter had killed and skinned the raccoon especially for Tink so she had treasured it dearly for a long time, despite its being a filthy raccoon skin. When the skin had gotten too old and dusty, Tink had taken it down and folded it carefully to tuck away. In its place now hung the fine white fur of a snow rabbit, much more appealing to Tink's taste.

The hole itself was simply that: just one room in which Tinker Bell had arranged all her things. She did not live like the fairies of the village. They slept on beds made of furs and whatever feathers they could find. Tink's bed was Italian walnut. The mattress was stuffed with tiny goose feathers and layered with sheets of fine silk. Across from the bed was the vanity: French giltwood carved in a decorative rococo style. The mirror was large and oval and the drawers had been carved with intricate filigree. Directly beside this vanity was a floor length mirror, also giltwood with tiny blue birds carved at the top corners. At the back of the room was a silk screen, behind which was the rack where Tinker Bell kept her outfits. Tink fluttered to this rack and began placing her newest purchases.

It was amazing, Tinker Bell thought, how quickly she managed to go through her outfits. Traveling around with Peter was rough business most of the time but it did have its perks. For one, it was through Peter that she managed to get all of this furniture into her room. He had carried it all the way from London. And when she decided to get rid of things, he was the one to toss them out.

She hung the last of the outfits and stepped back to look at the new collection. Off to the right of the rack were her standard green dresses. Simple, but durable and ultimately expendable. That was why she had five of them. Next to the green dresses were the satin thigh-length slips she wore at night. Next to those were the prettier outfits that, she ruefully admitted, she didn't get to wear very often. And when she did wear them, there hardly seemed to be a point. Peter never seemed to notice or care what she wore. She could fly around naked and he wouldn't think anything of it. The last time she had dressed nice had been over a month ago when Peter had been invited to eat dinner on the ship of some traveling merchants. The merchants had all complimented her on the light blue evening dress. Peter had only laughed and called her silly.

Tinker Bell sighed and rested her chin in her hand. Despite Peter's behavior, that had been a very nice evening. The food and drinks had been wonderful and the merchants had made promises to come back with some items that Tink might be interested in. It was so hard to find pixie-sized accoutrements. The dealer in London was the only one she knew of.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash outside.

"Tink! Are you here, Tink?"

Peter.

Tinker Bell frowned and shook her head. She zipped out to the high center of the room and looked down. There was Peter, filthy as usual, dressed in a chain mail vest and holding a sword and shield.

When Peter spotted Tink he smiled wide as though nothing in the world were wrong. In his world, there never was anything wrong. Not for real, anyways. "There you are Tink. Where have you been all day? You missed the King and Queen of Overdale."

Peter Pan would have been perhaps about nine or ten years old. When he chose to wear clothes it was only the bare minimum, usually a loin cloth made of an animal skin. He spent his days with mermaids and pirates and dinosaurs and Indians and gypsies and (apparently) Kings and Queens. All of this and he was just a boy.

"I haven't been gone all day," Tink hollared. "I only left a couple hours ago. Just a couple hours and then I come back and this place is a wreck! I have to live here too ya know, and I'm not going to live in a pig sty. It's not right for you to trash this place and then expect someone else to clean it up."

Peter smirked and swatted his sword playfully at the pixie. "Aw, Tink. You know that's not how I am. I don't expect anyone to clean it up." He tossed the sword and shield in a corner and bent over to shrug the chain mail over his head. "I'll clean it up later. I'm getting hungry."

Tink flew over and grabbed the boy by his ear and yanked hard. She shouted "You'll clean it up now! And when you're finished I want you to go down to the river and clean yourself up too. You haven't had a bath in a week and I'm tired of smelling you."

"Tink!" Peter whirled away and waved his arms at the belligerent fairy. Tinker Bell flew around his head, pulling his hair and pinching his arms. "Alright, alright," he shouted at last.

Tink circled back in front of Peter's nose with her arms crossed. She leaned in and glared at him, then returned to her room.

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Peter made a face and rubbed his arm where Tink had pinched it. Damn stupid fairy. But she was the thing he loved most in this world. He looked around the room and set about straightening things up a bit. He shouldn't have had to clean. Hadn't there been some other boys around here at some point? He vaguely remembered.

Every night before bed, Tinker Bell packed her toiletry items into her purse and flew down to the river that marked the halfway point between Peter's hideout and the fairy village. It was the same river that other fairies used when they washed themselves, but Tink went out of her way to use a different section of it.

She had her own little nook hidden in the crevice of a large, broken boulder. The crevice was V-shaped and dipped into the current just enough to be used as a bathing pool. At the side of this pool, Tink set down her purse and disrobed. With her soap and cloth in hand she waded down into the pool and set about getting herself clean.

To Tinker Bell, bathing was a meticulous ritual and her favorite part of the day. First she lathered her hair with her own special mixture of herbs and oils. She then piled the hair on top of her head and clipped it there out of the way while she washed the rest of herself. On her face she used a variety of soaps and extracts. Her skin was fair and prone to burning, so she had churned together a special soap that contained a generous amount of aloe and vitamin E. She exfoliated with a dry sponge first, then wet the sponge and washed off. She repeated this three times before moving on to her finger and toe nails.

As she cleaned, she admired her reflection in the water. She had such a pretty face, and a figure she openly prided herself on. Other female pixies shook their heads at the way she dressed but Tink didn't care. It wasn't like she hadn't worked for her figure. She was the world's tiniest masterpiece and she deserved to be admired.

Tinker Bell sighed and unclipped her hair to rinse it. She did have her admirers, but none of them mattered. They were all silly pixie boys and (if she was going to be honest about it) she was way out of their league. She was happily in love with Peter, and if Peter had the capacity to love anything beyond himself to any great extent, she knew he would love her too. In his own way Peter did love her. He made her things and looked for her when she wasn't around. For a boy as narrow minded and self centered as Peter these were extreme emotional accomplishments, and ones that Tinker Bell wore as personal badges on her shoulder.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Peter Pan characters.

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**Note:** Same old.

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**Chapter Two**

Tinker Bell slipped down into the luxurious softness of her bed. The downy mattress cushioned and conformed to her figure and the silk sheets laid lightly atop her. The comforter concealed the warm glow of her body and her little room was pitched into darkness. Her wings fluttered gently, compulsively, and in a minute she was sound asleep.

What woke her not even an hour later was a hard knocking by her door. She groaned and turned over, but the knocking continued insistently.

Tinker Bell growled and threw the covers away from her body. She stomped over to the doorway and tore aside that velvet rabbit hide. "What is it," she snarled at whoever was there.

It was Idlana, one of the small honey harvesting fairies. Idlana was several years younger than Tinker Bell and timid by nature. Tink had never liked her very much but Idlana had always insisted on liking Tink.

Idlana didn't shrink away from Tink's iciness. She was excited and too worked up to be intimidated.

"Tinker Bell, you have to come see," she said. She reached for Tink's hand but Tink yanked back.

"The hell I do! How dare you show up here in the middle of the night and expect me-"

"It's important, Tinker Bell!" Idlana's hands were clenched in front of her. She was practically vibrating with energy. But whatever it was couldn't have been too dire. She was biting back a grin like a damn idiot."I'm telling you, you need to come right now."

Tink fixed her with a frosty glare. In any normal situation no pixie would have dared visit Tinker Bell in her own home. Idlana would have been the last to attempt it.

"Fine. Let me get dressed."

"Just hurry, please."

Tink followed Idlana back to the fairy village. Most of the village was dark at this hour except for the Honey Cup tavern and the sentry houses. Tonight there was another light on at Bixer's house.

Bixer was the oldest fairy in the village. He and the second oldest fairy, Rubyglade, comprised what could be called the village's council. Bixer lived in a little thatch house on a branch overlooking the village's main market area. As Idlana and Tink came near to the house, Tink could see that there were fairies surrounding the house on all sides and peering into the windows.

"I found Tinker Bell," Idlana announced as she landed just behind a group of other girl fairies who were pushing each other to get a look inside one of the windows.

Tink landed behind Idlana. She closed her robe tighter around herself and yawned. "What's this all about anyways."

Idlana wedged her arm between two fairies to try and make a space. "Hey, let Tinker Bell see."

The fairy Katli shot a snarky look at Idlana. "What'd you bring her for. She wouldn't care about this." However, Katli stepped aside and gestured her hand to the window, her gaze following Tink with mild amusement. "Go on, get your look."

Tink came forward and pressed her nose to the window. Bixer was sitting in his armchair with Rubyglade standing beside him. Polcat, owner of the Honey Cup, was also there. And standing in front of them was a pixie like no other Tinker Bell had ever seen.

Was he even a pixie? Tink wondered. Pixies were supposed to be slight and dainty little things but this one was nothing but size and muscle. He was a full head and shoulders above everyone else. And those wings! Ugly, leathery things that reminded Tinker Bell of a gargoyle's. He did not emit the pleasant glow of a pixie. In fact there only seemed to be a shadow surrounding him that sucked the light out of everything he came close to. The shadow was so dark that if it hadn't been for Bixer's glow, Tink wouldn't have been able to see the stranger at all.

Neither Bixer nor Rubyglade looked too happy. Bixer's hand covered his mouth and the creases in his face looked deeper than normal. His brow sagged low over his eyes. Rubyglade held her hands at her back. She was saying something, but Tink couldn't read lips.

"Pale says his name is Graver," Idlana whispered by Tink's ear. "Isn't he the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen?"

Tinker Bell looked at Idlana with disgust. "Seriously?" Had there ever been a male that Idlana didn't fawn over? And this stranger was, in Tink's opinion, absolutely wretched. Graver. Wretched name for an ugly, wretched creature, whatever he was. He dressed like a common thief and probably smelled like one too. What kind of garments were those anyways. Plain cotton pants, obviously dirty. Boots, there was no surprise. And a black shirt opened at the chest like a pirate. How charming.

Tinker Bell had seen enough. She straightened and turned from the window. "Is this what you dragged me out of bed to see? Because I've seen Peter scrape more interesting things from the bottom of his foot."

Idlana held Tink's arm to keep her from walking off. "It's not just him. It's why he's here. Listen," she said, pointing to Pale who was crouched with his ear pressed to the front door.

"And why should we believe you," said Pale, who was using his heightened hearing to eavesdrop. "And now Graver's saying that he's seen enough of the war and...he wants to keep what happened to his home...from happening to others."

"War," Tink repeated. "What war?"

"Shh." Idlana squeezed her arm.

Pale frowned. "Rubyglade is saying it sounds far-fetched...She's never heard of a war anywhere near Neverland...Bixer is...hold on..." There was a pause. "Graver says he can show them proof...He can show proof to the whole village...that...that the war is heading this way..."

Tinker Bell shook away Idlana's hand. "What war is he talking about?"

Idlana looked concerned. "Pale heard them talking about it. Graver says there's been a war going on for the past five years. He says it started where he's from, a place called Neitherland."

Tink didn't buy it for a second. "That's ridiculous. If there had been a war going on, someone would have mentioned it by now. We would have gotten word from one of these people who pass through every now and then. Isn't that right? You can't have a war and keep it a secret. It's a fucking war."

Pale pushed away from the door and struggled to get to his feet. "They're coming," he said. Right then the door was pushed open and Bixer stepped out. He'd known the fairies were crowded there and that they'd been eavesdropping.

"Let everyone know. There's going to be an assembly tomorrow evening. Everyone is required to attend." His eyes settled on Tink. Tinker Bell scoffed and crossed her arms. Everyone knew she didn't conform to standard fairy protocol. Town hall meetings and assemblies didn't apply to her anymore. Idlana grasped her hand. "You'll come, right?"

"Fine, fine." Tinker Bell waved the girl off. Maybe she was just the slightest bit curious about that war nonsense, but not much.

Graver walked out from behind Bixer and nodded at the surrounding fairies. His gaze passed across Tinker Bell and Tink shot him a dirty, hateful glare. Nasty thing he was. He was up to something, she was sure. There wasn't any war. Peter would have known about it and told her. Peter knew everything that went on in Neverland.

Graver took off and the gust of wind from his wings pushed Tink and Idlana back a step. If he was a pixie, he was an unfortunately cumbersome one.

"Well this has all been very wonderful," Tinker Bell said. She fixed her hair and retied the belt of her robe. "But it's past midnight and I'm tired."

Idlana smiled and slipped her hands back to herself. "Sorry for waking you up. I just thought it was something you needed to be present for."

Tinker Bell frowned at the shy pixie. "It wasn't. Next time don't bother me unless someone is bleeding from the neck, or the fate of Neverland is resting on a broken kettle in urgent need of repair."

In a burst of air, Tink shot off back towards Peter's hideout. Tomorrow evening she supposed she would have to be back for whatever it was Graver wished to show the village. She only hoped it wouldn't take too long. She had better things to do than concern herself with the troubles of fairies.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Peter Pan characters.

**Note: **Same old.

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**Chapter Three**

The following day Tinker Bell woke late as usual. Peter would already be up and out, hopefully getting them something for breakfast instead of playing around.

Tink slipped from her bed, gathered her toiletry bag, and went down to the river for her morning wash. When she came back she sat at her vanity dressed in her robe and set about doing her hair. She wished she could wear her hair down more often but it just wasn't practical for the days she endured. She liked to keep her hair a little below shoulder length. Examining the fine blonde layers in the mirror she decided it would soon be time for a trim. No fairy in the village could cut hair very well. That was something she went to London for.

With her hair and makeup done, she went behind the silk screen to pick out an outfit for the day. Would it be the cute white tank top and pleated skirt? Or maybe the silk tunic with the gold rope belt? Oh, how she loved to kid herself. Of course she reached for one of those green dresses at the end. Cheap, plain things they were. But some weeks she went through them like a pirate through gunpowder.

That day Peter went exploring into the labyrinth of caves that ran beneath the island. He encountered mudmen and nymphs and talking dolphins, and deeper in the caves there was a nest of baby green dragons. As babies they were still quite friendly and Peter thought nothing of playing with them for the whole afternoon. Tinker Bell wasn't so amused. One of them snorted and nearly scorched her wings.

At the end of the day Tink was exhausted. It wasn't six o'clock yet and she was ready for her bath and bed. She reached for her toiletry bag when she suddenly remembered Brixer's order to attend the assembly. Well, Brixer had said it like an order. Tink didn't have to be there. What were they going to do, banish her? She'd just start getting her clothes from London like she got her furniture.

Oh, but she had to be there, if only to see what that Graver was up to. If it was something wicked she would tell Peter at once. As the matter stood now she was inclined to believe that Graver was some kind of scam artist. Annoying and unethical, but nothing to be worried about.

She changed outfits. This time she did take that white tunic with the gold belt. If she was going, she might as well look good when she got there. She cleaned up, fixed her hair into the tight little bun on her head, then set off for the village.

The assembly area for the fairies was the ground-level trunk of one of the trees that held their village. The base of the tree was the widest and was therefore the best place to accommodate every pixie.

Tinker Bell must have been the last to show up. As she neared the tree she could see cracks in the trunk bursting with the light of the pixies. She flew to one of the open knots and peered in. Pixies sat all around in small notches carved in the wood. Down in the center, Graver stood with Bixer and Rubyglade in chairs behind him.

"I didn't want to be the one to upset your lives," Graver was saying. The smooth baritone of his voice echoed through the tree trunk. He gestured with his hands, broad sweeping motions to engage his audience. "Believe me, if I thought it was in your best interests to leave you alone and let you continue your days in happiness, I would. But one day soon you would wake up and see war ships on the horizon. Hunters and soldiers would be landing on your shores and you wouldn't know who they were or why they were there."

Polcat fluttered from her notch. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted. "You said Neitherland is the one at war with Neverland. You're from the Neitherland, aren't you? Why should we be trusting you about all this?"

The other pixies shouted their concurrence. Graver waited for the noise to settle before replying.

"I'm a refugee with no interest in this war. I'm on my way to London where my family is. It was only by chance that I happened to fly over this island and see the lights of your village. I was hoping someone would have already told you, but your council seemed thoroughly surprised." He glanced outside one of the knot holes in the trunk then leaped and hovered in the air. "The sun is down. I can show you the proof you asked for."

Graver took off from the assembly area. Row by row, the other pixies peeled off and followed after him.

Tinker Bell watched them go, sitting with her knees tucked and arms hugged against herself. She should go get Peter, shouldn't she? If this was really proof of an encroaching war. The fairies would object to Peter's presence but she didn't care.

She frowned and shook her head. Silly. Of course there wasn't a war. With a sigh she swooped down from her seat and trailed after the fluttering crowd of lights.

The procession was a sight. A great handful of dancing little globes weaving among the trees in a long trail. Tink was at the very end. Polcat had noticed her there and paused to fly beside her.

"Hey, Tinker Bell," said Polcat, smiling.

Like Tinker Bell, Polcat was the subject of much gossip around the village. As far as the other fairies were concerned, any male who had set foot in the Honey Cup tavern had as good as bedded its owner. Polcat wasn't old but neither was she young. She was broad for a female fairy with wide shoulders and curvy hips. Her hair was curly and yellow, and she always wore it tied back with a ribbon almost as big as her head. Of all the fairies in the village, Tinker Bell found Polcat's company to be the most tolerable.

Tinker Bell glanced at Polcat and then looked back ahead. She didn't return Polcat's smile. "Evening."

Polcat chuckled. "Dammit, Tink. I guess you still got that bean stalk wedged up your ass." As Polcat flew she rolled over onto her back and folded her hands under her head. "Kiddin. You know I never judge you. Just came to see how you're doin. You don't drop by like you used to."

"I'm fine," Tink replied. Her eyes stayed ahead. She hated it when people asked how she was doing. She knew they did it to get her to open up about her daily life, about Peter, about herself. They only wanted material for gossip and she wasn't interested in being the butt of any more cruel talk.

Polcat watched her until Tinker Bell finally became uneasy.

"What," Tinker Bell snapped.

"Pale was askin about you again. Last night. Couldn't keep his eyes off you," Polcat replied. She was nothing but shit-eating smiles tonight.

"I didn't notice."

"Showed up in nothin but your jammies. That was cute."

"I wasn't the only one in bed clothes. I was sound asleep when Idlana woke me up."

"Sooo..."

"So nothing, Polcat. Leave me alone." Tink shoved the stocky fairy away from her.

"Alright, alright. Just teasin you." Polcat righted and flew back at Tinker Bell's side. She was quiet for a minute and then pointed ahead. "What do you think about this Graver guy."

"I think he's full of shit."

"You think? I don't know. I've never seen anything like him though. You think there really is a place called Neitherland?"

"If there was then Peter would've told me. Peter's been everywhere around Neverland and beyond."

"Ah, right. The great Peter Pan."

"Don't start, Cat."

"Well if there's no Neitherland, where do you think he came from?"

Tink threw her hand up. "Probably just some other island somewhere, I don't know. On this island alone there's no shortage of creatures. I swear every day Peter manages to dig up some new monster somewhere. He pisses it off, fights it, gives me a heart attack, then strolls back to his hide out like it was all nothing. One day it's sea serpents, the next day it's golems. Today it was dragons and nymphs. Tomorrow, who knows?"

Polcat grinned. "I know you must really love that boy if you're willing to put up with that kind of stuff all day."

"I do," Tinker Bell replied and left the matter at that.

Graver lead the fairies through the jungle, then up and up along the craggy cliffs of Neverland's highest mountain. Half way up the mountain the air grew thin and cold. Even higher up the wind gained strength and fog seeped in all around. A little higher and snow began to fall. At that point pixies held hands to stay together and they became one long train to keep from getting lost.

At last Graver stopped on a snowy ledge. The ledge was several yards wide, plenty big to let all of the pixies stand comfortably. He motioned all of them up.

"Here," he shouted over the wind. "Be careful. Everyone hold hands to keep from getting blown away."

Tinker Bell's teeth chattered loudly in her skull. She gripped her arms tight around herself and huddled in against Polcat. Idlana had seen Tinker Bell and slipped her way over.

Tinker Bell moved away to make room for Idlana between herself and Polcat. The three of them stood huddled close, well away from the cliff's edge.

"Look out there," Graver shouted to the fairies. He pointed toward the horizon.

At first Tinker Bell didn't know what she was looking for. The sky and ocean were completely dark except for a glittering V of moonlight. She squinted. After a minute she thought she was beginning to see something. There was a shadow, a silhouette gliding across the water. It was a very dark object. If it hadn't been for the moon at its back it would have been completely invisible.

In another minute when the object was right in the middle of the moon's reflection, its full shape became clear. It was a pirate ship, but nothing like the one belonging to Captain Hook. This ship was twice as large and black all the way around. If Tink focused closely enough she could make out the red color of its sails.

"A ship," someone shouted. Everyone had seen it now.

"Who is that?"

"Are they coming here?"

Tension began to rise. Tinker Bell looked around for Graver.

For creatures as tiny as pixies, time registers differently. In that one second when Tinker Bell had turned her head to search for Graver, behind her she heard what sounded like a whip just before it pops. Tink looked behind her and saw a diamond pattern of rope being yanked up from under the snow. It was coming in all around the fairies and drawing them close. Tinker Bell leaped up to dart away, but the frost had gotten to her wings and arrested them. The rope came closer and when it was up from the snow Tink could see clearly that it was, in fact, a net.

To a human, the entire thing had taken a tenth of a second. By the end of that tenth of a second, Tinker Bell had already pieced everything together: they had all been tricked.

All of the fairies were bunched together in the net and screaming for their lives. Some pulled this way, others pulled that way. They clawed and bit at the ropes, twisted and pulled and writhed to get free.

To avoid getting crushed, Tinker Bell climbed up the side of net to the top of it. The hole at the top was puckered where the rope gathered, but looked just big enough for a pixie to squeeze through.

Tinker Bell had just reached this exit when a beefy hand came and clutched it shut.

"Balls, Graver," shouted the voice to which the hand belonged. "I think this is the best batch we've ever gotten. Look at 'em all!"

An enormous man with a belly like a cauldron swung the net from side to side. His face was all brow and jaw. He had no hair anywhere and his skin was dark grey.

Another man came up and prodded the net with the butt of a mace. This man was as large as the first, but frighteningly thin. His bones were almost visible and the skin across his ribcage looked as though it were draped like a shawl.

"Lemme see there," he whispered, his gaze dancing. "Look at all those females. We're gonna be rich! This might be the last batch we ever have to gather."

The fat man slung the net over his shoulder. To a human, the collective screams of the pixies sounded like a bag of tiny bells being shaken by an energetic two year old.

Tinker Bell was thrown to side of the net. As the net rolled across the man's canon ball shoulder, she was crushed under the squirming mass of bodies. Her wings were pulled, her arms and legs were contorted painfully. Someone's foot was smashed into her face.

"Peter," she screamed.

There was no way these brutes would be able to make the trek across the island without Peter Pan knowing. Peter knew everything about this island and everything that happened on it. He was probably on his way right now. Tinker Bell estimated that she had been gone from the hide out for well over an hour. Peter would have noticed and gone looking for her. It was only a matter of time before he came across these men.

Tinker Bell reached for the netting and pulled herself close against it. She looped her arms around the rope and locked her hands to keep herself from being pulled away. Looking out, she searched for Graver. Where the hell was he. She'd known he'd been up to something and when she got the chance she was going to kill him.

The two men ambled down the mountain. The skinny one went first and the fat one followed. When they reached the trail that would take them through the jungle, the skinny one grabbed the net full of fairies and used it as a lantern. Tinker Bell watched the fat one draw his sword.

"Careful," the skinny man hissed.

The snatchers worked their way through the jungle and down to a narrow strip of beach. There was a wooden boat tied there. They climbed into the boat and pushed off.

Tinker Bell felt panic rise in her chest.

"Peter," she screamed again. Her eyes darted everywhere in search of the boy. Where was he? They were away from the island now.

She clamped her teeth on the rope in front of her and see-sawed her jaw to try and cut it. She barely managed to break a couple fibers. When she looked back at the island it was quite a distance away. "Peter, help," she cried.

A hand reached up from the tangle of bodies and grabbed her arm. "Tink!"

It was Pale. Tinker Bell gnashed her teeth at him and tore away from his grasp. "Don't touch me!" She didn't want to deal with him right now. She didn't want to deal with any of them. She needed to be away from them and back with Peter. What was she going to do if these men took her away? What would become of Peter? She could imagine Peter being content to live like an animal. He would never clean the hideout or himself and would probably eat nothing but candy from the brownie men. Worse yet, he would have no problem consorting with those Indian girls and the mermaids all day.

Tinker Bell wouldn't allow for that. She ripped and pulled at the rope with the ferocity of a wild cat. Pale was saying something to her but she wasn't listening. She didn't want to hear him. She hated Pale and wanted him to go away.

The island drifted further away. When Tinker Bell fought herself into exhaustion she slumped, her tiny hands limp over the rope. She felt like crying but wouldn't resort to that yet. At her back she could hear the cries and moans of the other fairies. Among them she was able to pick out Polcat's voice, and Rubyglade's. She closed her eyes and gripped the rope tightly.

"Augh," the fat man growled and shoved the net of screaming pixies with his boot. "Just shut up already."

The skeleton man sneered at him. "Fuck, be careful with those! Dead pixies are worthless pixies. Go on and put em out. We'll sort em out when we get to the ship."

The fat one grumbled and reached behind him for a sack. From the sack he took out a large, white jug. "We don't have much left. Hope it's enough."

"It'll be enough. Captain says we're gonna stop at Blacktide. We'll get more there."

Fat man pulled the cork from the jug and poured onto his palm a small pile of fine, silvery dust. To Tinker Bell it looked very similar to pixie dust. The man crouched to bring his face close to the pixies and blew the dust from his palm all across them.

Immediately Tinker Bell held her breath. The dust coated her and the other pixies. The man picked up the net and blew again across his palm, making sure no pixie was missed.

Tink couldn't hold her breath for long. When she inhaled she felt the dust swarm into her nose and lungs. It was thick and choking like smoke. She couldn't breath. She coughed and thrashed, turning her head any way she could to try and get a fresh breath. She coughed until she had no air left in her lungs. When she did manage to inhale it only served to sweep more dust into her.

After a minute her head began to swim. She was falling. The spasms in her chest relaxed and she felt her body go loose. The world closed in and went dark.


End file.
